The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales have updated the Guidance on employment tribunal awards for injury to feelings which are awarded in discrimination, whistleblowing and trade union membership or activities detriment claims and many other detriment claims (which are listed in Part V of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The updated Vento bands[…]
This year the increases are significant, no doubt due to the current high rate of inflation. The largest increase we believe has been made to the limit on a week’s pay. This is relevant to calculations for employees relating to redundancy payments and the basic award in unfair dismissal cases. The current rate is £571 and[…]
Ill health is a fact of life, and a good employer appreciates that when it strikes, employees need time off for medical assistance, recovery and rehabilitation. But employee sickness can have a huge impact on productivity and management costs, including contractual sick pay, and agency or temporary staff to provide cover. Ultimately if it seems[…]
Carers’ rights at work Carers UK estimates that the number of unpaid carers has risen to 10.6 million (Carers UK, Carers Week 2022 research report). This means that 1 in 5 adults in the UK are currently providing care. The Office for National Statistics puts the figure at 5 million: “In England and Wales an estimated 5.0 million usual[…]
The Prime Minister announced on 7th February the creation of four new government departments: A new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, has been tasked with securing the UK’s long-term energy supply, lowering energy bills and halving inflation. A re-focused Department for Culture, Media and Sport will recognise the importance of these industries to[…]
Consultation on holiday pay for part time workers The recent decision in Harpur Trust v Brazil (2022) has caused headaches for employers who must now allocate 5.6 weeks a year holiday to part time workers, even when they do not work regularly through the year. This has led to an anomaly in some cases where[…]
Dismissing an employee fairly: a refresher The law gives five potentially fair reasons for dismissal, including breach of a statutory duty or restriction and some other substantial reason capable of justifying dismissal. The most commonly used reasons are redundancy, capability and misconduct. Even if your employee is guilty of misconduct or their job is clearly[…]
Preventing claims of stress at work According to the Health & Safety Executive stress is ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’ by their job. “Stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health in 2021/22, 17.0[…]